It’s an incredible resource and must have been a huge amount of work to scan it all and put online (much – if not all – of this work was done by Alan, I think?)
The Rio Tape/Slide Archive was a radical 1980s community photography project based in the basement of the Rio Cinema in Dalston, East London. It taught unemployed local youth photography and sound-recording skills to document Hackney life. Its rediscovery in a filing cabinet 2016, it led to the publication of an excellent book by Isola Press.
The online archive is way more comprehensive than the book and contains 11,276 photos, nicely categorised into subject areas. Below are some of my favourites, with links to more in that category. (There is so much good material I struggled to keep it to six here…)
If you like this site, there is a real chance that you’ll get lost in this archive for a very pleasurable hour or two. Of course, many of the photos lack information or context. So it might be fun to do some future posts about them…
I speculated that it was almost certainly either connected with Hackney NALGO or perhaps its predecessor at 245 Mare Street, Hackney Community Relations Councill.
The post achieved what I hoped it would – the excellently named WokeKaren on Bluesky reached out to her contacts and:
Shared this excellent article with some old Hackney nalgo mates and 1 commented – ‘Actually Hackney NALGO commissioned that sign from the guy who painted the Dalston Peace Mural. The other half was on 247, which we also occupied.’
So! Mystery solved! Nice one!
The peace mural, pictured in 1985. Photograph: Alan Denney
If you didn’t know already, the Peace Mural was by Ray Walker and can be seen on Dalston Lane by the Curve Garden. The artwork was commissioned by the Greater London Council in 1983. But there is a further twist in the tale:
Ray extensively researched and engaged with the community over a period of 18 months prior to beginning work on the mural. Sadly, he died unexpectedly aged 39 in March 1984.
His friend, Mick Jones*, and Ray’s wife, Anna Walker, took on the project as a memorial to him, returning to his extensive reference photos to complete the mural.
Ray’s final design was slightly altered with the additions of Ray (based on his self portrait), Anna and their young son Roland, as well as the miners’ strike.
(*This is a different Mick Jones from the guitarist of the punk group The Clash. This Mick Jones was a muralist and also son of anti-fascist and trade union leader Jack Jones.)
You can see a large selection of his art in pages 404-427, 439-442 and 469-473 of this informative PhD thesis which sets out the context for the creation of a number of public left-wing murals in London in the 1970s and 1980s:
There is also a nice panel discussion about the history of the mural with Laurie Elks, Roland Walker and Alan May here courtesy of the comrades at Hackney History Festival:
I’ll leave you with these stories from Hackney Peoples Press, but when you pass 245-247 Mare Street, spare a thought for Ray Walker and his hidden sign of solidarity…
Hackney Peoples Press #100, April 194Hackney Peoples Press #101, May 1984Hackney Peoples Press #102, June 1984
Building work on a property at 245 Mare Street has uncovered this rather fetching signage from a bygone era. But, what does it mean? ask the collected doom-scrollers of Hackney.
Well, we can see that this vintage sign extends into the adjacent property: number 247. And the late twentieth Century history of 245-247 Mare Street turns out to be extremely my thing.
The “too long; didn’t read” doom-scroller summary
It looks like the building was occupied from at least the early 1970s by Hackney Community Relations Council (CRC) and then its successor organisation Hackney Council for Racial Equality.
But from the mid 1980s onwards 247 Mare Street was the office for Hackney NALGO, the National and Local Government Officers’ Association trade union.
So that’s the answer. Probably. But the official-sounding names of both these organisations do not tell you the full story of the part they played in Hackney’s radical history and social fabric. So keep reading for the longer and rewarding answer!
You will hear tales of confronting the National Front, solidarity with persecuted anarchists, opposition to racist police, riots in Dalston, successful anti-deportartion campaigns. And an outraged Margaret Thatcher and much more…
Hackney Community Relations Council (CRC)
The Community Relations Commission was a national body established by the government following the 1968 Race Relations Act. This was the second significant bit of anti-racist legislation for the UK (following the 1965 act).
The Commission set up local Community Relations Councils, which appear to have been quite varied in activity, but were broadly aimed at increasing community cohesion and reducing racism. By March 1969 there were 78 CRCs around the country and 42 full time posts attached to them.
By August 1969, Hackney CRC had produced an exhibition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, which was advertised with envelopes using the nationally produced Gandhi postage stamp and locally produced “post marks”.
(the lower of these images is addressed to the Community Relations Officer at Council offices).
In 1970, newly elected Labour MP for Hackney Central – Stanley Clinton-Davis, gave a shout out to the local CRC and a summary of its work in his maiden speech in the House of Commons:
The Community Relations Council has a magazine entitled Harmony, embodying the task of the programme of reconciliation which it seeks to undertake. It has forged a strong link with the local police force, because there are antagonisms which very often develop between immigrants and the police. In that regard it has had the whole-hearted support of the local commander, Commander Brown.
The Community Relations Council has promoted seminars and meetings on all issues affecting community relations in the broadest sense—immigrants and housing, education in a multi-racial society, and even equality for women—all issues affecting the dignity of all people. Its meetings are very well attended, and they have been provocative meetings. It is all to the good that provocative views should be expressed. The community relations council has promoted play groups and is operating a legal advice service. It has never been afraid of tackling problems wherever they arise and tackling difficulties which exist in a multi-racial community.
In the financial year 1975/6 Hackney CRC received £13,248 from the Community Relations Commission, plus £21,500 from Hackney Council. Its staff were listed as:
Ralph Adolphus Straker (1936 – 2013) was also a union activist, anti-SUS law campaigner and African and African Carribbean arts patron.
Christine Whitehead is possibly the same person who is now Emeritus Professor of Housing Economics at London School of Economics and Chair of Hackney Council’s Intermediate Housing Panel?
Other Hackney CRC workers included Patrick Kodikara (1939 to 2021) – social worker and controversial “firebrand” Hackney Labour councillor.
Hackney CRC seems to have been a great example of a 1970s publicly funded “official” community organisation which straddled mainstream liberal anti-racism and more radical movements (I mean, this is Hackney – so radicals would be difficult to avoid). For example this 1974 concertwas organised by Hackney Libraries “in association with Hackney CRC”:
“…by Hackney people concerned about the local impact of racist statements by Enoch Powell. The group remained active throughout the 1970s against the activities and presence of the National Front.”
You can also see a nicely designed HCAR badge at the museum link above.
Hackney Peoples Press published a nice double page spread on HCAR and its work in July 1976 (see above). The article concludes with this note about HCAR meetings being held at the CRC offices, so there was a physical presence as well as the address simply being used for post:
In 1977 HCAR and Hackney CRC were amongst the organisers of this march and festival along with Hackney Trades Council – an example of the enduring link between these groups and local trade unions:
Hackney CRC’s association with anti-racist movements brought it attention from the far right and also the police. We know this because of useful insights from the Undercover Policiing Inquiry. Inquiry documentation includes a Special Demonstration Squad report [UCPI0000010769] about the first public meeting of Hackney Community Relations Council, which took place at Stoke Newington Town Hall on 22 July 1976. It was attended by 250 people, significantly more than was normal for political meetings at the time.
From this we find that “spycops” saw Hackney CRC as worthy of attention. In his report, the police officer describes a National Front member being “ejected from the assembly room amid a shower of fists and invective”, and that as people left they were taunted by NF members, but did not physically confront them.
Hackney Council for Racial Equality
By 1978 Hackney Community Relations Council seems to have evolved into Hackney Council for Racial Equality, and is still based at 245 Mare Street (see bottom of this notice):
A letter to New Stateman in Feb 1981 reflects the general trend throughout the 1980s of radical groups in Hackney turning their attention to racist policing:
Community tensions led to rioting in Dalston over the weekend of 10-12 July 1981. Over 100 people were arrested and Hackney Legal Defence Committee (HDLC) was set up to assist them. The contact address for HDLC was c/o 247 Mare Street.
The death of Colin Roach by gunshot in Stoke Newington Police Station on 12 January 1983 led to demands from a range of groups to “break links” with the police. See: When Hackney (almost) defunded the Police for more on this. During this time HCRE wrote a formal letter to the new Police Commander requesting that police ceased visiting their offices.
By 1986, HCRE had relocated 1 Crossway, N16 8LA. Last time I checked you could still see their sign on the wall above the excellent Somine restaurant:
So what was happening at 245-247 Mare Street in the mid-1980s? Well that would be:
Hackney NALGO
Image courtesy of Hackney Archives on Twitter
The National Association of Local Government Officers was founded in 1905 and became the UK’s largest white-collar trade union by the late 1970s. It is now part of UNISON (as, for my sins, am I).
I think it’s fair to say that local government trade unionism is slightly less sexy than the mighty transport workers, factory workers, miners etc. But Hackney NALGO was involved with a tonne of surprising and inspiring campaigns.
Like Hackney CRC, our local NALGO branch also organised some belting gigs:
Image courtesy of Hackney Archives on Twitter
But the problems of racism require more than some excellent pop concerts. In February 1983 Hackney NALGO passed a resolution calling on members to join the movement to “break links” with the police following pressure from social services workers concerned about police violence and racism.
Union support for migrants shock horror!
In the 1980s Hackney Council was one of the biggest employers in the borough, and given our cosmopolitan population, it was inevitable that some council staff would face repressive attention from the state, including calls for their deportation. This feels sadly all-too relevant today and there is probably a lot more to be written on the subject. Here are two examples for now:
Marion Gaima
Marion Gaima worked in the council’s Environmental Health team in the 1980s. She was born in Sierra Leone and had arrived in the UK in 1973 as a child. Her “leave to remain” was granted until 1977 and then supposedly withdrawn (but she seems not to have been notified of this). A deportation order was served in 1981 but nothing happened until 1984 when she was arrested without warning by three male immigration officers and detained for 10 days in Holloway Prison before being released pending appeals, further arrests and several very stressful years.
Hackney NALGO and other local people and groups supported Marion throughout this terrible situation. Marion had spent most of her childhood and all of her adult life in the UK. Because she had not been given an opportunity to state her own case, she was eventually awarded £30,000 compensation and the case made legal history and created a precedent for the future. And – she won!
Hackney Museum also has a 1989 leaflet produced by NALGO campaigning against the deportation of Hackney social worker and disability assistant Georgina Addai. I have not been able to find out much about this, so drop a comment below if you know more.
Union support for poll tax rioters shock horror!
In the run-up to the 1990 anti-poll tax protest outside the town hall, Hackney Community Defence Association left 500 bust cards at the NALGO office. This showed characteristic HCDA foresight – 5000 pissed off people showed up and the demo turned into Hackney’s own poll tax riot. 57 people were arrested and HCDA offered legal assistance.
Hackney NALGO’s solidarity with poll tax protestors did not end there. Hackney Museum has a great leaflet from April 1990 proposing a strike in support of Hackney Council housing officer Andy Murphy, who had been suspended “for his political views”.
So, er… what “views” were those then? Well…
Murphy was a member of anarchist group Class War, who were very active in Hackney in the 1980s and 1990s. He represented the group on a BBC news programme following the intense Trafalgar Square poll tax riot of 31 March 1990.
This is the specific exchange which got him suspended from work:
What is your view of those who were carrying out the violence on Saturday, do you regard them as heroes?
Given the level of weaponry available to the police – riot shields, trunchoens, vans, horses – the people who fought back with sticks, bits of cardboard and whatever bottles were available – as far as we’re concerned were working class heroes.
The whole interview is well worth a look [see 1:04-4:31]:
NALGO’s threat of strike action worked and Murphy was reinstated. This led to an amusing condemnation from Margaret Thatcher herself during Prime Minster’s question time on May Day 1990:
Does my right hon. Friend agree that it would be wrong for a local authority to cave in to threats of a politically motivated strike, particularly to secure the reinstatement of a leading member of Class War who hailed the Trafalgar square rioters as heroes?
The Prime Minister:
Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend. I understand that Hackney suspended a person who hailed the Trafalgar square rioters as heroes, that the National and Local Government Officers Association threatened to go on strike and that Hackney then caved in. That tells us a lot about the people whom Hackney employs, a lot about NALGO and a lot about what life would be like under Labour.
I’m not sure that people would be able to be so forthright in the media now, or that they would get back up from their union.
The recently revealed sign looks more like a crowd behind a trade union banner, so my guess is that it probably relates more to the Hackney NALGO era of the building than its Hackney CRC days.
The ground floor of 245-249 Mare is currently registered to the Tre Viet Restaurant. The loathesome Giles Coren reviewed it in 2013. He rated the food highly, but unsurprisingly chose to be weirdly bigoted and borderline racist about the people and the surrounding area. As you can see from the photo above it may have had a name change or new ownership and is trading as Sen Viet. It’s worth mentioning that Hackney Archives is currently undertaking a project on the history of Vietnamese communities in Hackney.
As the restaurant and its hidden sign are so close to Hackney Museum, I hope some arrangement can be made to retrieve it for posterity before it is covered up again…
Campaign Against Police Surveillance: Celia Stubbs – information on undercover policing and Hackney CRC. (Celia is a longstanding anti-racist and is also the widow of Blair Peach, who was killed by a police officer during an anti-NF demonstration in Southall on 23 April 1979)
The Radical History of Hackney 
